Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Stolt-Nielsen have taken direct stakes in low‑carbon fuel start‑up XFuel, backing a $20m Series A that aims to push waste‑based drop‑in bunkers from lab to commercial scale.

The Mallorca‑based company confirmed it has closed a $20m equity round – including a recent extension – with NYK and Stolt Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Stolt‑Nielsen, joining as strategic investors alongside Wagner Carbon, Audacy, Future Planet Capital, Light Ray Ventures, Overlap Holdings and existing backers Union Square Ventures, AENU and SOSV. XFuel also secured a $9m blended‑finance grant from the European Innovation Council in 2025. NYK at Stolt-Nielsen are long-term business partners, having run a joint venture chemical tanker company together for more than 30 years.

“The backing of top‑tier VCs alongside global shipping leaders is a clear vote of confidence not just in our technology, but in our ability to scale it globally,” said XFuel CEO Nicholas Ball. “With this capital, we’re moving decisively from innovation to impact; deploying our first commercial facilities and delivering cost‑competitive, low‑carbon drop‑in fuels exactly when the shipping sector and other hard‑to‑abate industries need real solutions.”

XFuel’s chemical lquid refining process is billed as a one‑step technology to convert mixed waste liquids into clean drop‑in fuels for shipping and other sectors, with no need for engine modifications or new infrastructure. The company and its new strategic investors will explore long‑term offtake, supply‑side collaborations for sludge and other residues, and project and JV opportunities at key ports.

Wagner Carbon partner Santosh Lakhan said XFuel “is simultaneously reducing the environmental risk in the maritime fuel supply chain and decarbonising shipping,” while Future Planet Capital and Audacy highlighted the attraction of a drop‑in solution at cost parity with today’s marine fuels.